


Net of Wonder

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24763150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: "You can't control me." Then Tony whips his tail again to turn away from his father."You swim out that door and I'm planning your wedding and coronation myself."Tony stills. He swallows down the way the oppression tries to pound him flat. But there's no avoiding the inevitable. He looks over his shoulder to glare at Howard. "Be my guest. It's not like you ever would have listened to me anyway."Tony isn't expecting an apprentice when he goes to meet with Yinsen after a blowout fight with her dad, but he finds all that and more in Steve Rogers. Steve gives Tony everything he needs while Tony runs from his future, never knowing that their futures might be more entwined than they'd realized.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 12
Kudos: 78
Collections: Stony Loves Steve 2020





	Net of Wonder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Syan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syan/gifts).



> Title from a Jacques Cousteau quote. Written for Syan for Stony Loves Steve 2020 for the prompt _Arranged Marriage + Merman AU_. Hope you enjoy!!

"But why _now_?"

Howard glares down at Tony. "You have made it exceedingly clear that you want nothing to do with anything outside your little tinkering sanctuary. I'm long past indulging your trivialities. It's high time you took your rightful place in the kingdom."

Tony glares up at his father. "I never asked for this life, you know. Just because _you_ think running the kingdom is what I want doesn't mean it is."

Howard rises up from his throne, his long black tail whipping through the ocean waters. "You will do as you are told or you will suffer the consequences."

Tony doesn't hesitate. He pushes his tail through the water until he's level with Howard and leans in close. He glares at him from centimeters away. "You can't control me." Then Tony whips his tail again to turn away from his father.

"You swim out that door and I'm planning your wedding and coronation myself."

Tony stills. He swallows down the way the oppression tries to pound him flat. But there's no avoiding the inevitable. If he's going to be king one day, he needs a partner at his side. As long as his father is alive, he's never going to let Tony choose. He closes his eyes, inhales, and exhales just as slowly. He looks over his shoulder to glare at Howard. "Be my guest. It's not like you ever would have listened to me anyway." Tony looks away and lets his tail drive him away from his father, away from the castle, and away from the family that has never wanted him for who he is. It's time to visit the one person that has stood by his side for years. He takes the time to grab his satchel from the entryway and takes off into the dark.

* * *

Tony pulls up short just outside of Yinsen's cavern. He takes a moment to check the cavern's design and has to swallow down a sigh at the utter lack of structural integrity in the whole place. One well-placed charge could take the whole thing down. If Howard wanted to—

But Howard doesn't know, and he never will. Tony's here to ask for Yinsen's help, not criticize where he chooses to spend his time. Tony leans forward and kicks his way into the back of Yinsen's cavern.

"Yinsen? You in here?" Silence greets him, and Tony sighs, watching the bubbles drift up toward the ceiling. He probably should have made sure Yinsen was around before he came down here himself. He huffs and settles into a patch of coral in the wall. "Guess I'll just wait until he gets back, then."

Something clatters to Tony's left, but when he glances over, he doesn't see anything. He squints, pushing off his makeshift chair and floats over toward the sound. It comes again, this time somewhere to the right of the last one, and this time Tony whips around in time to see a flicker of a tail, blue and silver in the light from the table in the middle of the room. Tony pushes himself forcefully toward the flicker and watches as it moves through the shadows in the corners of the room.

"I know you're in here. You might as well come out and show yourself."

The currents seem to go still around him. Tony doesn't move, his eyes searching every corner of the room to try to catch sight of whoever that was. When there's no response for too long of a moment, Tony slips the half-finished gauntlet from the satchel at his waist and pulls it on over his hand.

"Come out or I start blowing things up."

There's another moment of stillness before another merperson appears in front of him. Tony lifts the gauntlet a little higher, feeling the heat pulse through the water around them. But the other merperson — merman, by the looks of him — has his hands up in surrender and his head bowed. "I'm sorry."

Tony lowers the gauntlet but leaves it charged. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The merman looks up at Tony. His eyes are a startling bright blue beneath golden locks, and Tony finds himself mesmerized. "My name's Steve. I've— I've been training with Master Yinsen."

That gets Tony's attention. "In magic?"

Steve nods, looking reluctant to admit even that much. Tony pulls his lips back in a smirk. "Perfect." Before Steve can say anything, Tony's pushed through the water in front of him. "I need your help."

Steve seems reluctant the whole time they're working on the cloaking spell for Tony's shop so he can spend the next few weeks hiding from his father. It's enough that Tony almost bails to wait for Yinsen instead, but even the mention of doing so is enough to have Steve redoubling his efforts on the spell. Tony grins, circling the room to grab whatever Steve asks him for.

Watching Steve work is incredible. His hands move eel fast, riptide strong, and Tony can hardly take his eyes off of him. It's almost a disappointment when he turns to Tony, bottle in hand, and smiles. "All done."

Tony reaches out toward the bottle with tentative fingers. "You're sure this will work?"

Steve shrugs. "I mean, I'm not powerful enough to make it permanent, but it'll work for the next few days I think. Come back in three days and I'll make you a new batch."

Tony takes the bottle. "How do I use it?"

"Put some above the doors and windows and in the four corners of the space. That will keep it hidden from sight and make people forget where it is."

Tony grins at him. "And what do you want for your payment?"

Steve blushes. "I don't need anything like that. This was— this was good practice."

Tony hums and leans in, brushing a kiss over Steve's lips. "Well. If you say so."

Steve stammers as Tony pulls away. Tony just grins, gives him a little wave and says "See you in three days," before he's turning away and swimming away from Steve.

A potion to hide his workshop and a beautiful man all in one? This is Tony's lucky day.

* * *

Steve is alone again when Tony returns three days later. In that time Tony has spent nearly all his days hiding away in his workshop, only returning home one night to sleep in a more comfortable bed than the cot in his workshop.

None of that seems to matter when Steve smiles at him. He holds the bottle out to Tony. "All ready for you."

Tony tries not to feel his heart stutter in his chest. He should be grateful not to need to hang around Yinsen's shop any longer than necessary, but he'd kind of liked helping Steve make the potion. He reaches out to take the bottle but clenches his fingers at the last moment. "Thank you. It worked wonders."

Steve tilts his head to the side, as though trying to understand what Tony's saying. His face softens, and he leans in close. Tony can feel the ripples in the water when he speaks. "I didn't know you wanted to help."

Tony feels his ears heat, "What? I— I didn't say that."

Steve smirks and reaches out to tap a finger to Tony's nose. "Didn't have to. Your face said it all."

Tony pulls back with a huff and snatches the bottle from Steve's grip. "Whatever. Just have it ready for me when I come back."

Steve grins at him and Tony's insides flip. He turns away and swims off as fast as he can. No need to let the man get under his skin.

* * *

Days turn to weeks as Tony keeps going back to Yinsen's place to meet up with Steve and make the concealing potion together. Tony learns why Steve's studying with Yinsen (to pay him back for a spell that Yinsen cast for him), what Steve wants to do when he finishes his apprenticeship (use his magic to serve the many inhabitants of the seas), and what drives him (his mother, who seems to embody everything good in the world).

Through it all, Steve's smile and kindness soothe the ache in Tony's heart that comes from his father's insistence that he take his place in the kingdom. His laughter is a balm that Tony had never known he needed. The brush of his hand is enough to have Tony's heart fluttering in his chest. Steve is strong, with more magic than Tony's used to being around, but he's also gentle and kind in ways that Tony has long forgotten people could be. It isn't long before Tony catches himself falling a little in love with him.

Not that it matters. Howard's become more and more suspicious as Tony wriggles out of meeting after meeting leading up to his coronation. He's taken to dragging Tony out of his room on those rare nights he sleeps at the castle and all but chaining him to a chair in the council room. Tony puts up with it only because the other option is to risk his father disowning him and revoking his right to the kingdom. Tony can't have that.

But Tony shuts down any time they start talking about his bride-to-be. He doesn't want to know who will be waiting for him at the other end of the aisle on that day and he doesn't want to admit how much he wishes it could be Steve.

Strong, beautiful, wonderful Steve. Those moments, when the councilors are arguing over his future, are the moments when Tony risks his father's wrath and sprints back to his sanctuary.

When Tony helps Steve whip up his last dose of concealing potion before the coronation, Tony throws caution to the wind and invites Steve to his workshop.

Steve's eyes go wide. "What, me? Are you sure?"

Tony grins, because suddenly it's the easiest decision he's made in ages. "Course I am." He holds a hand out to Steve. "Come on."

Steve is appropriately stunned by the beauty and majesty of Tony's workshop. He comments on everything he sees, asks more questions than Tony can answer, and absorbs every single answer. When he has finally exhausted his questions, he turns to Tony, eyes sparkling bright enough that Tony can hardly breathe. "This is amazing."

Tony coughs. "It's— It's not all that much."

Steve shakes his head. "This is life changing, Tony. The things we could learn and do with this technology—" He shakes his head. "I can't even ima—"

Steve cuts off mid-word, tilting his head to the side as though he can hear something. His eyes go wide and he turns to Tony. "How close did you cut it on the concealment spell?"

Tony feels the blood drain from his face. That seems to be answer enough for Steve who turns toward the door. Tony reaches out and catches him by the wrist, pulling him back. "There's no time. You have to hide and wait until they've taken me. The door will open for you; I set it up ages ago."

"Tony—"

Ever the reckless one, Tony leans in and kisses Steve. "Please, Steve. I can't do this if I know you're in danger."

Steve still seems dazed by the kiss. Before he can gather his wits, Tony shoves Steve behind an array of robots he'd been tinkering with and turns to face the music.

* * *

Tony doesn't try to run. He knows his father has every inch of the palace on lockdown until his coronation, and running won't do a damn thing. So he lies in his bed and waits, wishing that things could have ended up differently. If only he'd been brave enough to kiss Steve earlier—

But then, it doesn't matter now, does it? Tony's fate is sealed, and he's relatively certain he saved Steve from a dastardly fate himself, so there's nothing left to worry about. This is the path he's taken, and there's no turning back.

His mother comes in to help him prepare for his coronation. Tony would ask why she's involved in this portion, but he tries not to let it bother him. He's never really understood his mother any better than his father. So he lets her fix his hair and shine his scales and, when the time comes, he lets her lead him to the throne room to welcome his bride.

He waits on bended fin for all the rigamarole that comes with a coronation and, when the time comes to speak his piece, he says all the right lines at all the right times.

And then comes the moment of truth. Meeting his future partner.

Tony's ready for it to be anyone. Pepper, from the deeps. That would be ideal, though he thinks she knows better than to wed him. Christine, from the coastal waters, in all the glory of her jewel-toned scales. That would suck, but at least he knows Christine. He's gripped suddenly with the terror that it might be someone he doesn't know. Someone he'll have to learn even as he learns his new place among the royals. That might be the worst possible outcome.

"And now, we welcome the one that will stand at the Prince's side."

Tony swallows and turns to face the doors at the other end of the hall. They swing open slow enough that Tony almost has enough time to sink into a heart attack, but then someone comes through. Someone with familiar blue and silver scales.

Tony's breath catches, because there's no way this is happening. No way. But Steve's smiling at him as he swims through the hall before he settles on bended fin before Tony. Tony doesn't move, letting his father speak the final words.

"Do you, Steven of the icy north, accept my son's hand in marriage, to join our two kingdoms in beauty and strength?"

Steve looks up, meeting Tony's eyes instead of Howard's. It could be a fatal blow, but Steve is confident enough to pull it off. "I do, Your Majesty."

"And do you, Tony of the depths, accept Steven as your partner to join our two kingdoms in beauty and strength?"

Tony swallows past the thickness in his throat and speaks with all the strength he can muster. "I do."

"Then let our kingdoms join as one with your first kiss."

Tony bites his lip as Steve rises to his full height. He gives Tony a knowing smile and leans in to kiss him squarely on the lips.

Tony laughs onto the kiss. "Should we tell them?"

Steve laughs back. "Not a chance, Tony. That kiss was mine, and I'm not letting anyone else have it."

"Suit yourself." He kisses Steve again. "I think I like it better that way too."


End file.
